The 2026 Carolina Panthers may just be snakebitten. Any lingering question about that was answered emphatically on Wednesday morning, when the team suffered their third injury in just their fifth day of training camp.
Last week, it was second-year outside linebacker Nic Scourton who went down with a season-ending ACL tear, followed by tight end Mitchell Evans getting carted off with an ankle sprain on Tuesday. And yesterday, it was rookie wide receiver Chris Brazzell II, who was wheeled away with a moderate LCL tear.
Scourton is the biggest loss in the bunch—for now, at least—and his absence represents a devastating blow to a defense that could have taken a big step forward this season. With their rising star out, Carolina's pass rush has been
ranked 31st in the NFL by CBS Sports.
Carter Bahns writes:
If not for the injury Nic Scourton sustained on the first day of training camp, the Panthers would rank a healthy number of spots higher. Instead, his season is over before it even begins due to a torn ACL. Neither Phillips nor Jones is exactly reliable in terms of staying on the field, either, so the bottom has the threat of really falling out from underneath this group. Phillips is a plus starter when healthy, though, like he was all of last year.
The Panthers may still finish much better than last year in sacks, but only because the bar is so low for improvement. In 2024 and 2025, Carolina tied for the third-fewest sacks—with 32 and 30, respectively—while mustering up pressure rates of just 16.2 percent (32nd) and 16.5 percent (31st).
Their addition of Jaelan Phillips should, in theory, boost the edge rushing unit's production a great deal. And if 2025 third-round pick Princely Umanmielen can step up, his growth would go a long way towards bettering their numbers.
Even still, the group's depth is now a major factor and it'll only take one more injury for this unit to drop to the worst in the league.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers' pass rush ranked 2nd-worst in NFL after Nic Scourton's season-ending injury
